You Don't Want to Miss the 43rd Annual Middle Eastern Festival this Sunday

ghraybeh-cookie-st-george-antiochan-orthodox-church-portland-oregon

Excellent ghraybeh at 2019’s Middle Eastern Festival.

Back in 2019 I attended the Middle Eastern Festival at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in east Portland and was blown away by the event. Along with the beautiful church, its sanctuary adorned with icons, live music and dancing, and friendly event staff, the food was top-notch. Because of the pandemic they did not hold the festival for two years, and I’ve kept an eye on it, hoping for its return. And it has! It is happening this Sunday, August 28.

I said in 2019, after seeing the spit-roasted meat over the fire, “I was instantly transported back to years of hazy summer days in Queens.” It was the real deal and made for seriously delicious gyros. Gyros are again on the menu, plus a variety of other treats, including:

Falafel and falafel sandwiches from Mama Khouri’s
Chicken kebabs
Spinach and meat pies
Date rolls, baklawa (aka baklava), Ka’ek b Haleeb (a kind of sweet bread), and other sweet pastries
Stuffed grape leaves and zucchini
Kibbeh (stuffed with beef)
Halva (possibly)
Coffee

aysh-el-sarayya-st-george-antiochan-orthodox-church-portland-oregon

I hope to see you again, you beautiful thing.

Last year I was blown away by the Aysh El-Sarayya, a thick creamy pudding sprinkled with pistachios, with syrup added just as I bought it, My hope is that it will return.

There will also be opportunities to learn how to make baklawa, stuffed grape leaves, and core zucchini via hands-on demonstrations at 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm. Demonstrations will be led by Leila Piazza, who runs Syrian Home Cooking, a small bakery operation making the kind of sweet and savory pastries you’d find in the Levant. You can find her pastries regularly at the Jerusalem Rose Market on MLK. She also leads classes, so you know you will be in experienced hands.

Photo credit: Middle Eastern Festival

Products from Lina’s Market (44 NE Division Street in Gresham) will also be available for purchase at the festival. Lina’s is a small Middle Eastern market offering herbs, spices, and a variety of traditional and popular foodstuffs of the Mediterranean region.

Aside from that, there will be activities for the kids, a silent auction, and a bookstore selling items important to Orthodox Christians (e.g., books, icons). There will also be tours of the beautiful church, which I recommend.

For me, I love the food at this festival and being around a cultural expression (social and religious) that is different from mine. It is world-expanding and overly positive. The Middle Eastern Festival is by far my favorite cultural festival of the year in Portland. I’m so glad it’s back.

I hope you can make it!

43rd Annual Middle Eastern Festival
Sunday, August 28, 2022
noon to 7pm
St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church
2101 NE 162nd Avenue, Portland
stgeorgepdx.org | Facebook Event Page